Alexandria

Alexandria, known as al-Iskandariyyah in Arabic, is the second largest city and a major economic center of Egypt, located in the Nile Delta in the north of the country. The city was founded around the small Egyptian town of Rhacotis in 331 BC by Alexander the Great's Macedonian army, and he named the city in his honor, one of several cities named "Alexandria". The city became an important center of Hellenic civilization for centuries, and it also served as the capital of Roman and Byzantine Aegyptus. Alexandria became home to the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Library of Alexandria, and the Necropolis, all major Hellenic structures. The city was conquered by the Muslim Rashidun Caliphate in 641, and the captial of Egypt was moved to Fustat, which later became a part of Cairo. Alexandria remained a major port city, and it exported Egyptian cotton and other goods. In 2016, Alexandria had a population of 4,984,387 people.